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Daylife/Reuters Pictures
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| Captain Richard Phillips, (R), alongside Cmdr. Frank Castellano, CO of USS Bainbridge after his rescue |
Hero Capt. Richard Phillips was freed today in a dramatic ending to a four-day high seas standoff that riveted the world.
Three of the four ragtag pirates who held the world’s most powerful Navy at bay on the Indian Ocean were killed, and the fourth was taken into custody.
Phillips was said to be in good condition.
On Saturday negotiations had broken down when the Somali pirates reportedly insisted they would only free Phillips in exchange for their own freedom – a deal nixed by US officials.
Phillips, 53, captain of the 17,000-ton relief cargo vessel Maersk Alabama, offered himself as a hostage to save his 19-man crew Wednesday when armed pirates took his ship.
He and the pirates had been drifting in an out-of-gas lifeboat, surrounded by massive US warships who could do little but keep pirate reinforcements from reaching the lifeboat.
The audacious pirates even opened fire Saturday on a small Navy vessel sent from the destroyer USS Bainbridge.
Bravo!
An out of gas lifeboat? Couldn’t they have had a diver swim over with a needle?
What did they do with the pirate reinforcements?
The lifeboats are fiberglass and completely enclosed except for a small hatch on the top.
“four ragtag pirates who held the world’s most powerful Navy at bay on the Indian Ocean”
I think that sums it up. Whole thing is nothing but diversionary drama. Now comes the heart wrenching interviews of the captain on all the morning shows etc. Blah 😛
They could end this whole Indian Ocean pirate thing in a heart beat if they wanted too. It would involve the pirates knowing they faced certain death everytime they headed out and tried to board any ship. Im sure after awhile they would consider another career choice.
My tinfoil had wearing side, cant help but wonder if there isnt someone/thing more powerful behind the curtain, orchestrating these boardings. After all, in the current climate of security contracting, there could be alot of money made providing security details on every ship that goes thru the region. Think Hegelian Dialectic.
Pirates… Don’t fuck with the seals!
Praise all around. The crew contributed by taking back their ship and causing the pirates to flee in a life boat.
On the other hand, I’m disappointed that the Navy Seals were rather sloppy in their diligence. The first time the captain jumped ship the sharp shooters should have taken out the pirates immediately. Apparently they weren’t looking or weren’t prepared or didn’t have the pirates in their sights at all. It seems Philips was smarter than the whole lot of them.
#6 – JimR – I’m disappointed that the Navy Seals were rather sloppy in their diligence.
I’m sure that you – with your extensive studies of the Rambo and Missing in Action movies – could have killed all terrorists minutes after the had captured the captain. Too bad you weren’t there.
#3 – do you get the impression MikeN doesn’t have a TV set in his dorm common room?
Jägermeister, so you think the Seals were prepared for the event should the captain jump ship? What happened in your opinion?
#9 – JimR
If they were in place the first time, they probably had very good reasons for not taking action.
#9, like what? It’s not a complex scenario. There aren’t a lot of contingencies. The captain jumped in the water and left the pirates in the open. The pirates lives depended on the captain being alive and in their possession. The Seals didn’t shoot the first time because they weren’t ready… and the captain APPARENTLY had to give them the heads up.
What’s your scenario?
#11 – JimR
You weren’t there, so all your talk is just speculative bullshit.
One thing is sure we will never get the whole story.
What Seals(amazingly well trained group) did to get the kill shots. They will keep some of that out of the news so the techniques will still be effective and I bet some of it would be considered not cricket.
The motivation of the pirates to take such risks, this kind of story is not good for US news media ratings. Think about it we don’t have a pirate problem off the cost of Canada.
Captain Phillips will be presented as hero(I’d crew for him) but I bet there are lots of mistakes/bad calls he made we will never hear about. We will get a movie and most will take that stage show as absolutely factual. It will probably be a Fox made for TV movie.
I wish the pirates would have killed that sonovabitch. I wnated those brave warriors to get that ransom. the somali pirates will never die. death to amerikkka! Long live the Somlai Pirates!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brave man. But did he need to grow a beard?
Bravo ! Congratulations to the Navy and the Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces, President Obama.
Jägermeister, at least I can manage to raise a poignant question to a rather suspiciously unprofessional inaction. They are supposed to be the best of the best.
What have you got? Three responses of nothing. You can’t come up with one reasonable reason why they wouldn’t take out the raft when the captain first jumped ship, except that you have almost religious belief that the Seals are perfection on water and there must be some godly reason for them not to take immediate action… you just can’t think of what it could possibly be.
Instead of just slinging insults back at me, why don’t you offer something of an intelligent alternative in response?
Dallas – Your gutless Commander in Chimp (to use one of your terms for a president) is pleased that the captain is safe.
Oooh, I feel all warm and safe all over. It was a standing order and it was not given for this rescue.
You continue to prove yourself an idiot.
The SpecOps team did what they were supposed to do and did a great job. It would be good if the Chimp wouldn’t cut the Navy any more since it would be easier to prevent this kind of crap in the future.
Mission Accomplished
#15, sargasso… I agree 100%. The captain showed the kind of bravery and intelligence I would expect of a Seal commander. He knew he wouldn’t be shot by his captors. He was the only thing between them and death. That’s why he jumped a second time hoping someone out there had gotten the hint.
#18 Ummm, excuse me Diesel Dyke, but President Obama is the Special Ops crew Commander in Chief. Therefore, I am right and you are wrong.
Oh and yes, Mission Accomplished.
BTW, shouldn’t you be praying or something instead of being such an ass on this special day?
#17 – JimR
Do you have the full picture of what happened during the captain’s first swim? If not, you’re just spreading speculative bullshit.
#20 Dallas you are the one that said your Commander in Chimp ordered this operation and had you been listening to the briefing by the Vice Admiral in Centcom in the last hour you would have your facts straight but alas you are an idiot and would not want to let facts get in the way of your childlike rant.
The Admiral pointed out that Obomba did not order this. This operation was based on a standing presidential order. I’m guess it wasn’t even Obomba but may have been Bush.
But still, it is a great day when you have three dead Somalis and a rescued captain. The only better if it had been four dead Somalis.
3 shot dead, one left to hang, after a 30 minute trial of course. Wonder if an American flagged ship will be preyed on again?
#20 Diesel : “…you are the one that said your Commander in Chimp ordered this operation..”
First off, my post shown #16 is short and to the point and no reference of anything about an order for anyone. You need glasses and/or stop masturbating.
Why are you such a fucking pussy on an event that we should agree had a good outcome?
#21, Jägermeister… I’m not “spreading” anything. I’m just asking a valid question, which you can’t answer… can’t even speculate on. This is a discussion blog isn’t it? If you can’t come up with an alternative reasonable speculation, why not accept that it’s a good question that should be answered, instead of getting all huffy about it?
According to the NR, the pirates “opened fire near the fleeing skipper” after he jumped in the water the first time. That tells me that the captain had it figured out pretty good the first time. Don’t you think so?
I hope the commander (Frank Castellano) does give a reasonable answer, but right now I’ve got to wonder.
#24 Dallas I mentioned your implying that the current Commander in Chimp had anything to do with it.
You seem to think he had anything to do with it and other than he is the current CiC (Chimp in Charge) he didn’t.
I trained SEALs for a certain task involving weapons during a short period so if you think I’m a fucking pussy, by all means meet with me some time.
As I rarely agree with any of the drivel you post I will agree on the good news.
BTW – I have glasses, am agnostic and wasn’t masturbating, I was stirring a pitcher of ObomaAid for my ObomaAid drinking friends.
Well done.
#23, Paddy… I’m being the devils advocate here… but what if “next time” the pirates take the captain and tie him up so he can’t jump overboard, then demand their ransom AND a fully fueled boat or the captain gets one in a foot, then a knee, etc. for every minute that they are late. In return, the captain would be freed on land somewhere… their guarantee being that they want to show good faith for future raids with successful negotiations. If they killed the captain anyway they wouldn’t have a negotiating tool next time.
I’m not as impressed as you that the Navy showed “shock and awe” on this one…. 4 days to retake a lifeboat and 4 thugs, by a navy destroyer… hmmmm.
Once again the US has made a bad situation worse with its reckless, violent, cowboy approach to the world. Obama has been fooled by the Rambo-talk of the leftover Bushies at the Pentagon. I hope he comes ot his senses and stops following the real Chimp’s behavior.
The big brave US Navy shot and killed 3 desperate teenagers whose only real crimes were being born into a country that the US turned into a hellhole, and making an attempt to squeeze a tiny bit of cash out of the people who own the world. Might we mention that the pirates have almost never harmed hostages? Bravo? You make me sick.
Now ship crews will simply be killed when their ships are taken, instead of treated well until ransoms are paid.
I just hope the surviving Freedom Fighter gets an adequate team of ACLU lawyers, and a new suit of clothes.